Remember The Time
by KDanceWriteDream
Summary: After the four descendants successfully defeat Maleficent, they have to learn to readjust to life in Auradon with the world's most hated villain just a few blocks away. Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos will have to face challenges they've never had to face before. Will they be able to come out unscathed? Sequel to 'Like Mother, Like Daughter... Or Not'.
1. Chapter 1

**Well, hello there! Two years later, using inspiration from Descendants 2 (which, by the way, was amazing), I have decided to write a sequel to** _ **Like Mother, Like Daughter…Or Not.**_ **I appreciate all the continued support to that story and am still receiving requests to do a sequel, so here it is! I have a general outline started, so I am excited to see where this goes! I am hoping to update regularly and finish this before the end of summer, which I seem as doable. Now: for the important stuff.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Descendants franchise nor do I have any affiliation with Disney. I do not own that story or its characters, I only own the story line that I have created here.**

 **Rating: To keep it safe, this will be rated as TEEN. I do not believe it will get very graphic or anything, but if that were to happen, there will be an adequate amount of warning in the author's note before each chapter.**

 **Mal~**

It took long enough, but I've finally gotten used to the bright, sunny weather of Auradon. With much persuasion from Evie, I've accepted the fact the curtains in our room will forever remain open. I slide a blue and gold Auradon Prep jacket over my shoulders, ignoring the purple and green one on the coat rack that I haven't touched since before my mother and my friends' parents tried to take over the world.

It has been about six months since the first execution in which I was supposed to help Maleficent eliminate all Auradon's princes and princesses. That was before Evie, Jay, Carlos, and I figured out a way to stop her. Since then, Auradon steadily got back to normal. Classes resumed about two weeks after Cruella, the Evil Queen, and Jafar were all banished back to the Isle. During the hiatus, the guards under the direction of Auradon's government set everything back to its pristine state. The class rooms were returned to their original state, and the great hall was scrubbed and cleaned until every ounce of evil was removed from the floor boards. But most importantly, no one talked about it. There was an unspoken agreement between the students at Auradon Prep that we were not supposed to talk about the quick-lived reign of the terrifying villains that ruined their parents' lives.

For us, it was a matter of fitting back in. Evie was having the most trouble out of the four of us; not that she would ever admit it. The nightmares that plagued her dreams when we were on the Isle have returned with an equal, if not greater, intensity. She refuses to talk about them, only staring off into space whenever I wake her up from a deep sleep. I haven't said anything about them to Jay and Carlos, but I know that they have suspicions about something not being right. Speaking of the boys, they are the most stoic of all. There have been no comments about making their parents proud, or even talking about our past life on the Isle. They don't want to point out that we used to be them. That, had we not figured out a way to stop them, we would be ruling over our classmates at this time. Making them miserable as a way to please our parents.

And me? I'm just trying to keep everything together. I'm depending on Evie, Jay, and Carlos more than ever. I need them in order to make it through every day. I need them to help me face my greatest fear: my mother. Since I erased her memory at the almost-execution, Maleficent has moved into Auradon's hospital. Not that she's anywhere near the patients, though. She is deep in the lowest level of the hospital, locked away in a room surrounded by guards 24/7. Away from any speck of information that could trigger a memory of what happened. It was the only way that Ben would allow her to stay in Auradon. She's visited by the doctor once a day so he can evaluate her progress – or lack thereof.

My mother still has no recollection of who she is, where she is, what she's done, or who I am. Ben highly recommended that I refrain from telling her that I am her daughter: so, I've settled for a hospital volunteer. I'm trying not to let her lack of knowledge make me sad, as I've practically been invisible to her for my entire life, but I would also like the chance to change her for the good. Let her see what she can be, in contrast to what she was.

I place a book from Ben's library into my bag as my friends' conversation picks up around me. Jay is sitting on my bed, while Carlos sits at the foot of Evie's bed with Dude, right next to Evie's dangling legs. "Carlos and I have tourney practice in twenty minutes, and we've already missed one day this week so Coach isn't going to let us miss anymore." Jay runs a hand through his hair which is in its pre-practice state: loose over his shoulders as opposed to up tight on top of his head.

Letting out a small laugh, I join him on my bed. "Guys, it's fine. I can go by myself. You don't have to babysit me."

The three of them exchange wary glances. In the three months since my mother has been in the hospital, not once have I gone alone. This is mainly because of Evie being afraid of what might happen if I go by myself, something that she has been very clear about, not that I'm complaining. I'm eternally grateful for everything that my friends have done for me. Perhaps the only good thing that has come out of this: is that we're closer than ever before – which I didn't even think was possible.

Evie clicks on her phone to check the time. "What about Ben? Doesn't his council meeting end at three?"

Carlos scoffs, "Yeah, like Ben would ever go with Mal." I bow my head. Ben has been relatively absent since, what the papers have dubbed, the 'final battle'. He claims to be busy with meetings and arrangements with the Isle, but personally, I think he is avoiding me. I've kept that little bit to myself, as has Evie. The boys, on the other hand, are a completely different story.

Evie sighs. "Alright, I'll text Doug and ask to reschedule for later tonight. If we get going right now we can get back before five and I can meet him for dinner."

"E! No, it's fine. I can go by myself." I look from Evie to Carlos to Jay, hoping that one of them will agree with me. No such luck. "Come on guys, she can't do anything to me."

Jay ignores my protests and looks to our blue-haired best friend. "Are you sure?"

Evie smiles. "Of course. Doug won't mind." I plaster an incredulous expression on my face. That poor boy has been fawning over Evie since we first arrived at Auradon. He might not let her know that he minds, but I'm 99.9% sure that he will mind if she keeps canceling. When Evie realizes what I'm trying to communicate, she pushes herself off her bed. She reaches out a perfectly manicured hand, "Come on, are you ready?"

I bite the side of my lip knowing that the boys are not going to help me here. "Fine. But we'll only stay for a little bit."

The mile-long walk from Auradon Prep to the hospital has become incredibly familiar to my friends and me. Once you get off campus, it is easy to find: just take a left at the school's sign and walk straight into town. If you look closely, you can see the top of Ben's castle. Sometimes I think about what he is doing. Is he in another meeting? Is he eating lunch with his parents? I occasionally see him in school, but, according to Fairy Godmother, he has been doing a lot of schooling at home after the final battle. She said that it hit him hard.

I wish he would've been the one to tell me that.

Evie and I walk silently beside each other until we reach the entrance to the hospital, at which point, she reaches out and grabs my hand. The corners of my lips turn up in a smile as I turn to see her staring at me. She breaks the silence. "Can I ask you something?"

My eyebrow quirks upwards. "Of course."

She gestures to the hospital. "Does it get easier? Because I am still as scared to walk in there as I was the first time."

I don't bother lying to her. Even if I didn't want to tell her the truth, Evie would be able to see right through it. "Not really. A part of me knows that she will never be the person she was again, which gives me a little bit of security, but another part of me knows that she has that evil spark in her body. I don't think that fear will ever go away."

Evie wraps her arm around my shoulders and we resume our walk towards the hospital entrance. "You know you did the right thing, right, M?" She signs our names into the log, despite everyone knowing who we are and who we are visiting.

I don't answer her question. Instead, I focus intently on walking down all the steps towards the hospital's lowest level. When we get to the bottom of the stairwell, we are greeted by two guards dressed in identical Auradon attire: blue and gold uniforms buttoned all the way to the top of the collars. The two guards exchange looks, and then open the doors for Evie and me. Evie thanks them for me, but I just take a deep breath to steady my racing heart.

The darkness of the Isle is excellently replicated down here in the hospital, if not even on purpose. There are no windows in the hallway or in my mother's room for that matter. She hasn't seen sunlight since she has been locked up: not much different than on the Isle.

Down the hall where I know the door to Maleficent's room is triple-locked are three more guards in the same uniform: one on either side of the doorframe, and one across the hall. Evie leads me down the dark hallway until we reach the doorway. The guards nod at us and start unlocking the door. I fiddle with Ben's ring on my finger. This is the moment of truth. Will she be calm today, or outraged to still be locked up in here for, what she presumes is, no reason at all.

The door is opened for us and one of the guards leads us in. Sitting on her mattress covered in clean white sheets is my mother. Her horns still intact, but her makeup fully removed. There is no emotion on her face. She just sits there, staring at the wall in front of her. She doesn't blink when we enter, nor when Evie and I sit in the two folding chairs on the opposite side of the room. She doesn't move a muscle when the guard clears his throat, or when I place my bag on the floor beside me.

Evie nods slowly, telling me that it is alright to start talking. I smile softly. "Hi, Maleficent. How are you doing today?" One of the strangest things about coming to visit her is the fact that I have to call her by her name: not Mom or Mother. Just _Maleficent._

Finally, the woman blinks. It is a long blink, one that really requires you to hold your eyes closed. When she reopens them, the piercing green eyes are staring right back at us. I feel Evie stiffen beside me. Not that she would ever admit it, but I know that coming to these visits with me are not one of her favorite things to do. My mother licks her lips. "I'm just swell. Thanks for asking."

Evie takes a deep breath. "We brought some new books for you, Maleficent. Did you finish the ones we brought last time?" I resist the urge to laugh. The 'books' are actually our old remedial goodness textbooks, along with some children stories about how good always wins. Each book that we bring her has to be approved by either Fairy Godmother, Ben, Queen Belle, or a member of the royal council. Just to make sure that there is no influential information in any of the books that we bring her.

There is a wisp of emotion that passes over Maleficent's face. "Oh, good! I've been waiting for something else to keep me occupied."

She gets up off her bed and goes over to a bookshelf that is nailed to the floor. She removes two other textbooks and hands them to Evie, taking the new ones in her other hand. Evie looks at each title, then turns to me. "Didn't we bring her three?" I shrug, making her address my mother herself. "We gave you 'Becoming Your Own Fairytale' last week."

Again, Maleficent's eyes light up. "Oh yes. The doctor took that one away though. Something about having difficult material."

My eyebrows knit together, and I push I piece of my purple hair behind my ear. "They took it away? Isn't that the second book they've done that with?"

Maleficent shrugs. "I don't quite remember." _Of course, you don't._

An uncomfortable silence falls over the room. Usually, we have something else to talk about, or Evie will ask to do her makeup, or the boys will make conversation with me, expecting my mother to jump in at any point. But today, something is different. We don't have anything to talk about, and none of us are really in the mood. My eyes drift up to the analog clock hanging on the wall, enclosed by a wire cage. It is about three thirty, the walk taking up about twenty minutes of our time.

I scratch the back of my hand with my thumb nail, once again catching my Evie's attention. "M, why don't we let Maleficent rest. We have other patients to visit."

"I… uh…"

Maleficent laughs. "Don't feel bad, dear. I understand if you wouldn't want to spend your day down here in the dark. I'm sure it's beautiful out."

Not once in my entire life has my mother called me dear, and it stuns me half to death. My mouth is slightly open, trying to form words. Luckily, Evie notices my struggles and takes my hand once more. "Come on, Mal. Why don't we go upstairs?"

I'm finally taken out of my trance. "Y-yeah. Sounds good. We'll see you soon, alright, Maleficent?"

My mom nods, and waggles her fingers at me. "Have a good day." I give her a half-hearted goodbye, before Evie practically drags me out of the room, heart racing and palms sweaty.

 **General ~**

Once Mal and Evie leave Maleficent's room, the guards return to their posts just outside the doorframe, completely oblivious to what is happening inside the dungeon-like room. Maleficent can't help but snicker to herself, _those two girls must be more out of it than me._

Quietly, she pads to the other side of her bed, and lifts the mattress as silently as possible. The springs beneath the bed creak, and she freezes. The evil mistress moves slower than before, and sticks her hand in a slice in the bottom of the mattress carved out about a month ago after the blue-haired girl did her nails. There is something about the four kids that always visited her that still stumped Maleficent. She just couldn't get a grasp on it. _Soon,_ she reminded herself.

From the mattress, Maleficent pulls a hardcover book. The cover is decorated brightly with drawings of sunflowers surrounding a castle. In fancy, cursive handwriting, the title reads, 'Becoming Your Own Fairytale'. She flips through the pages, not paying any attention to the actual text, but more so to what was written in the margins of the first few chapters.

Maleficent runs her fingers over her own chicken scratch, remembering when she wrote each thing down. _Sunshine spell. Summoning spell. Floating spell._ And so many more. They were slowly coming back to her, and from where Maleficent still doesn't know. But she is determined to find out. She _will_ find out.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter, and to the readers of** _ **Like Mother, Like Daughter… Or Not,**_ **welcome back! If you enjoyed the beginning to this chapter, please favorite, follow, and review the story, as all of your enthusiasm rally encourages me to update faster! Let me know in the reviews if you have questions, concerns, requests, or comments about the story! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **KDanceWriteDream**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for all your support last chapter!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the Descendants franchise nor do I have any affiliation with Disney. I do not own that story or its characters, I only own the story line that I have created here.**

 **Rating: To keep it safe, this will be rated as TEEN. I do not believe it will get very graphic or anything, but if that were to happen, there will be an adequate amount of warning in the author's note before each chapter.**

 **Mal~**

After Evie and I get back from visiting my mother in the hospital, we part ways before entering the Auradon Prep campus. She was oddly silent on the way back from the visit, but when I asked her about it, she just chalked it up to being nervous about going out on her date with Doug, which she hurried off to as soon as we came to the entrance of the school, knowing that the dining hall was only open for the next hour.

I, on the other hand, am left standing by myself, wondering what I am going to do for the rest of the night. The sun has yet to set, so I still have a few hours of daylight left before curfew, and I already promised Jane and Lonnie that I would help them bake cookies for a fundraiser for the tourney team that is happening this weekend. I'm supposed to be meeting them after dinner around seven, giving me a little time to go see Ben in his office. Making up my mind, I spin on my heel and take off towards the castle, running down the street as quickly as I can in my wedges.

When I finally get to the castle, I make my way through the still-confusing hallways towards where Ben's office is. It used to be King Adam's office, but ever since the coronation, King Adam has since moved his study closer to his bedroom on the far side of the castle, giving Ben what he calls the 'proper working environment for a king'.

The heavy wood door is closed tightly, so I knock, waiting until I hear Ben say, "come in!"

He's sitting behind his large mahogany desk, a portrait of himself hanging on the wall next to him. His back is facing a glass window that reveals some of Auradon – but not nearly all of it. Most notably, though, is the amount of Auradon memorabilia that Ben has in the office. Pennants and flags, all dyed blue and gold, hang off every nook and cranny of the office, leaving just enough space for books and other picture frames, including one that contains a picture of Ben and me from family day a few months ago.

"Mal!" Ben stands from his chair and comes over to me, first enveloping me in a hug, and then placing a light kiss on my cheek. "How has your day been?"

I take his hand in mine and already he is whisking me off to the couch on the far side of the room. "Um, it was alright. I went to visit my mother with Evie and I did a little homework. What about you? Have you been busy?"

Ben shrugs. "Fairy Godmother has been bringing me some of my school work, and I've been trying to schedule council meetings all day, but everyone seems to be busy…" He pauses for a moment before another realization hits him. "Which reminds me: Snow White wants us to do an interview in the next couple of days about our life after the coronation. Also, my mother would like us to have dinner with Mrs. Potts sometime in the near future, and my father would love it if you could join us for a game of croquet tomorrow afternoon with Prince Charming and Cinderella."

My eyes widen, talk about only a few days' notice. "Ben, I…"

He closes his eyes, and holds out his free hand. "I know, it is a lot to ask. But we have to act like everything is normal so the kingdom can return to what it was _before._ "

"You mean before my mother almost ruined everything?"

Ben sighs and releases my hand. "That's not what I was going to say, Mal. Your mother may have almost ruined Auradon, but _you_ saved it. Without you, we wouldn't be sitting here right now." He brushes a piece of my purple hair behind my ear. "Now. How about those events? Do you think you'll be able to make them?"

Again, I find myself fiddling with Ben's ring on my finger. The ring he gave me right before the coronation. Right before our lives were almost ruined forever. It's become a sort of safety blanket if I'm being honest with myself. "I really want to, Ben. But with school and trying to make sure that Maleficent is alright…"

"That's what is stopping you? Making sure your mother, who was going to make you kill my parents, is alright?" He sits back further on the couch, a bigger distance forming between us.

I reach out for his hand. "Ben, this is my chance to make sure that she won't go back to her old ways. She could get better. She could live in Auradon. She could have a life."

Ben pushes himself off the couch, leaving me staring up at him. "Mal, you're going to be Queen someday. You have to start making good impressions on the people of Auradon, and associating with the woman who almost killed us all…. that's not a very good impression."

My eyebrows knit together. Yes, I do realize that there is a possibility of me becoming queen _someday._ That day is very far away, though. Not to mention, when did I ever agree to this job? Why should I, of all people, be a role model to people in Auradon. "I'm not going to change for Auradon, Ben. That woman is my mother. She gave birth to me. I finally have a chance to have a relationship with her, and I am not going to jeopardize that for you, or anyone else." I stand beside him, crossing my arms protectively over my chest. "You have no idea what it is like growing up with someone who is supposed to love you unconditionally but wants nothing more than to hate you. So please, Ben, don't talk to me about good impressions because the only impression I am trying to make right now is on my mother so she doesn't end up back on that prison that your father created."

Ben freezes, giving me the perfect opportunity to make my much-needed escape.

 **Ben~**

I don't know what to say. I don't know what to do. Mal has been through so much in her short, sixteen years of life, and I can only imagine a fraction of what she must have gone through growing up on the Isle. The Isle that, as she so clearly pointed out, my father created.

After she stormed out of my office, I give her a few minutes to make some distance between herself and the castle. But as I do so, all I can think about is going after her to make sure she is okay.

Mal has changed my life. She filled a space in my heart that I didn't realize was empty. She's brought a sense of adventure and love and humor into my life that I so desperately needed as a sixteen-year-old prince and soon-to-be king. Naturally, we are going to disagree sometimes, but I hate to make her upset, and because of that, I need to fix this.

I put on my varsity jacket and follow Mal's path through the castle, listening closely to see if I can catch the clack of her heels against the hardwood floors. I greet the guards, and step out into the early nightfall, taking in a deep breath. I haven't been outside all day.

My feet move before my mind can even tell them to, and before I know it I am on the trail towards the dorm rooms of Auradon Prep. Every so often I will see a fellow student or another passerby, and I smile and tilt my head, a quick gesture that says hello, while my mind is still focused on finding Mal.

I pass my father's statue and go into the grand foyer of the building. I take the grand staircase towards the girls' dormitory, and when I get to Mal and Evie's room, I knock lightly, much like Mal did when she came to visit me. It is only a matter of seconds before the door swings open and Jay opens the door.

"Ben? What are you doing here?" He opens the door wider, allowing me to see the room more clearly. Carlos is sitting on Mal's four-poster bed with Dude. Evie is sitting at her sewing machine, staring contently at a blue jacket, and a pile of abandoned papers lay scattered on Evie's bed, making me assume that that is where Jay was sitting.

"I'm uh… I'm looking for Mal. I thought this is where she would be."

Jay turns around and goes back into the room, silently inviting me in. Closing the door behind me, I stand awkwardly to the side, saying hello to Carlos when he picks his head up. "She was supposed to be meeting Lonnie and Jane in the kitchen after visiting her mom. Did she make plans with you or something?"

"No, she just came to see me at home, and uh… we had a little argument. I was just looking for her to make things right."

The whirring of Evie's sewing machine stops, and she looks up at me, acknowledging my presence for the first time since I entered the room. "What happened?"

I perch myself on the dresser in the room. "Nothing big… there were a few events that I had scheduled for us to do and Mal seems to have other plans." I try to give the vaguest answer as possible, but, knowing Mal's friends, they will end up pulling the truth out of me eventually.

Carlos scratches Dude's belly. "What kind of 'events'?"

I shrug. "An interview, a dinner, and a game of croquet. Mal said that she wants to focus on school and her mother," the three descendants look at each other knowingly, "and making sure that Maleficent is alright."

Jay rolls his eyes. "And I'm sure you had the perfect response to that, right Ben?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

Evie moves her jacket to the side. "Maybe she would be more willing to participate in those types of things if you were more supportive of her wanting to help Maleficent."

Carlos nods in agreement. "Ben, when was the last time that you went with Mal to the hospital? When was the last time you talked about what she thought was best for her?"

Standing, I make my way closer to the three of them. "I am the king of Auradon now, guys. I have to make sure I am not showing favoritism to a _villain_. And, frankly, I think Mal is getting way to close to her mother. She is going to end up getting her, and I don't think she realizes it."

Evie immediately gets defensive. "Mal deserves a lot more credit than you're giving her, Ben. And, maybe, she would be more willing to participate in your royal agenda if you participated in hers."

 **So, I realize that these first few chapters are sort of slow, but I promise that it will pick up quickly! If you enjoyed this chapter, please favorite, follow, and review the story, as all your enthusiasm really encourages me to update faster! Let me know in the reviews if you have questions, concerns, requests, or comments about the story! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Until Next Time,**

 **KDanceWriteDream**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone. With the recent passing of our beloved Cameron Boyce, I felt a need to return to this story. I'm going to try and finish it (I have the rest of it planned out), so bear with me as I get back into the swing of things. I'm going to post this chapter and see what the response is, I'm not sure if the people who read the first two chapters are going to be interested in it anymore. So, let me know what you think.**

 **Mal ~**

"Where the _hell_ have you been?" My room is dark when I quietly unlock the door, expecting Evie to be fast asleep. The moon is high in the clear night sky, proving to everyone just how late it is.

I jump straight out of my skin, one of the bedside table lights flicking on as I do so. Evie is sitting up in her bed, a dark blue nightgown, the same shade as her hair, adorns her body, her face bare of any makeup. Carlos lays beside her, Dude curled up at the end of Evie's bed, with Jay lounging out on mine. "What are you guys doing in here?" They were all supposed to be asleep. I was supposed to sneak in without anyone noticing. This whole afternoon was supposed to have disappeared from my memory before tomorrow morning.

"Mal, it's almost midnight. Where have you been?" Jay sits up straighter, wiping the exhaustion out of his eyes. Out of all of them, he should be the one to understand the most, that, sometimes, you just need to get out of your head for a little bit.

I throw my backpack on the ground by my desk, not even bothering to stand it back up when a couple of pencils roll out. I unzip my boots, procrastinating as much as I can before I have to answer. "I went for a walk."

"A walk?" Evie has pushed herself out from underneath her covers, coming over and standing right in front of me. I don't need any more light to see how angry she is. Her brows are furrowed, three lines appearing in between them. "A _walk?_ Mal, Ben left _hours_ ago saying you were upset with him, and you don't bother coming back until now? You don't bother letting anyone know where you were?" I open my mouth to answer her, but she cuts me off. "You didn't go make cookies with Lonnie or Jane… it's been hours since anyone has seen you!"

"I-I'm sorry." I don't know what to say. I wasn't thinking when I left Ben's office this afternoon. All I could think about was getting away from him and getting away from Auradon. I walked for miles, ending up in the Enchanted Forest on the outside of Auradon's town line. It was dark by the time I got there, so I turned around, not really caring about curfew, or Fairy Godmother, or Ben, for that matter.

Evie's lip quivers before she throws her arms around my neck, engulfing me in a hug so tight you would've thought I'd been gone for days – not hours. "We thought something had happened."

I squeeze her back, pulling away only to see the anger diminish and take the form of concern. "I didn't mean to make you guys worried. I figured you would've just gone to bed."

"Why would we have gone to bed?" Carlos finally joins the conversation, "Ben told us about your fight. We knew you were upset."

 _Ben was here._ "Yeah, um…" the memory of our fight slowly comes back to my mind. Him saying I shouldn't trust my mother, me blaming his dad for my childhood. My heart aches just thinking about what I said. "He got mad because I keep going to see Maleficent rather than going to croquet games."

I take Evie's hand, leading her back to her bed. The circles under her eyes are darker than before. The nightmares bother her the worst, but the stress I just put her in, must've made her even more exhausted than normal. Jay joins us on the mattress, the four of us sitting so close that our knees touch. "We know, Ben told us."

"So, Ben was here?" The three of them exchange nervous looks, contemplating whether or not to tell me what he said. Too bad for them, I can read right through them. "Guys, come on. What did he say?" They look between each other once more; Evie nervously biting her lip, Jay looking anywhere but my face, and Carlos occupying himself with petting Dude. " _Guys._ "

"Ben said if you kept going to see Maleficent, you were going to end up getting hurt." The words spill from Jay's mouth before anyone can stop him. In exchange for his honesty, he gets a glare from both Evie and Carlos in return, but just shrugs his shoulders in response. "She was going to find out eventually."

My heart pounds in my chest. _Get hurt?_ I already hurt. My mother doesn't remember who I am, I was almost responsible for not only the death of two of Auradon's finest royalty; but the death of hundreds of Auradon citizens – including my three best friends. Now, we're back in the same bubble the four of us were in when we got here. Everyone tries to make us feel like we're one of them. A hero. But, truth be told, we're always going to be 'the kids from the Isle.' Even if no one calls us that, we will forever call ourselves that.

I take a deep breath, not ready to hear the answer to the question I'm about to ask. "What do you guys think? Am I going to get hurt?"

Evie grasps my hands, her finger lightly stroking the gold material of Ben's ring. "M. She's your mom. You deserve to try and make things right between the two of you." She moves even closer to me, wrapping her arm around my shoulder. My throat tightens, tears threatening to spill. "Ben is never going to understand what it's like to have a parent like ours. He's never going to understand how we still love them, even after everything they've done. That's not an excuse, though, for him to try and get you to stop seeing her. Even after you've told him multiple times that this is what you want."

It's clear that there are some strong feelings about Ben in the room. I know all of my friends like him. He's their friend just as he's my boyfriend. That doesn't mean that he can't make them angry, though, and, clearly, there have been some discussions today toying with just that idea.

"We know it's hard for you not to have his support. But you have ours." My free hand is taken by Carlos, his snow-white hair sagging with the lack of product in it this late at night.

"It's just…" I take a shuddering breath. "I-I want to make Ben happy. More than anything I want to make sure he's not embarrassed to have a villain kid as his girlfriend. But I can't just abandon my mother." I choke back a sob. "I finally have this chance to have a relationship with her and I feel like he's trying to sabotage it."

The tears are flowing freely now, just as they did earlier this afternoon as I tripped over roots and stumbled over rocks in the woods. I'm once again pulled into Evie's chest. But, this time, I feel another set of arms wrap around me, and then another.

We remain like that for a while, none of us moving, each of us feeling safer than we have in a long time. It's very rare that all four of us are together when someone reaches this point of vulnerability. It happened more frequently on the Isle, but, after that one Sunday, we've typically only been around one or two other people when we hit our breaking point.

I'm with Evie when she has her nightmares; sobbing as the memories of the Isle, the coronation, and after the coronation, come flooding back to haunt her dreams. The boys don't like to get emotional, but both Evie and I have seen them break down. I try not to let it happen, but there's only so much you can do.

Finally, Jay starts to pull away, causing the rest of us to look up at his dark, chocolate eyes, waiting for his words of wisdom. "We'll be here for you, with whatever you want to do. If Ben doesn't see what you want, and who you are, then he doesn't deserve you."

Carlos, feeding off of Jay's words, takes his own shot at it. "We're not going to let him keep you from the things you want. From the things you deserve to have."

"You don't have to change for him."

 _Flashback~_

 _Mal doesn't want to move. Movement causes pain. Movement causes her to remember how stupid she had been last night. How could she even think it would be okay to lie to her mother about what she had studied when Mal knew that she would be tested on it._ Idiot _._

 _Her room is dark, the shades pulled shut, blocking the minimal sunlight that the Isle receives during the day from reaching her pale skin. She doesn't know how they do it in Auradon. The sun shines 24/7 there. How do they not get burnt to a crisp?_

 _Despite her better judgment, she bends her leg slightly, her thigh screaming in pain from the gash left over from Maleficent's fingernails. She's so uncomfortable. At this point, she'll do anything to numb the pain._

 _Her headache roars to life when there is a light tapping on her balcony door. It's been throbbing dully all day, but even that small amount of added noise inflicts so much more pain than humanly possible._

 _Mal's voice croaks as she tries to answer, "y-yeah?" The door handle slowly turns, the dimming sunlight flooding the room. She brings her arm up to cover her face, resulting in another cry of pain. Her mother is out right now, so, luckily, she won't be able to dance with glee at her daughter's discomfort._

" _M? You okay?" Evie's voice fills Mal's ears, the only pleasure she's experienced in the last twenty-four hours. With her eyes closed, she feels a hand grab onto hers. "Mal, what happened?"_

 _Her mattress – as thin as it is – sinks beneath the weight of two other people, undoubtedly Jay and Carlos. They're probably just getting back from school. None of them are fans, but it's one of the only places safe from their parents._

 _Mal licks her cracked lips. "I w-was…studying and I t-told her I finished." Her lungs burn. She probably has a cracked rib or something, not that she'll ever admit it. "I h-hadn't f-finished and she found out."_

" _Idiot. Why would you do that?" Jay's soft voice comes from the corner of her bed._

 _Mal suppresses a smile, "I h-had a death w-wish." She struggles to open her eyes, one of them swollen shut, but Evie strokes her forehead softly, bringing her some much-needed comfort. "H-how was school?" Mal, Evie, and Jay are all the same age, but, Carlos, a year younger, could easily outsmart any of them._

 _Carlos lays his hand gently on her foot. "It was fine. We missed you, though."_

 _Evie lets out a small laugh. "Yeah, so can you not lie to your mother anymore? We kind of need you."_

 **I hope y'all enjoyed it, and, if you're reading this after sticking it out with me for the past two years, thank you so much for coming back. Please, let me know what you think, and I hope there is enough support (although I understand if there isn't) for me to post the next chapters. I'm predicting the story to be ten chapters in all (with the tenth chapter being an epilogue). So, let me know what you think, and I hope to post again soon!**


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